Darfellan
Darfellan are muscular, hairless humanoids that superficially resemble humans, but with the coloration and affinity for water associated with several species of dolphin. Appearance Darfellan stand more than seven feet tall and are powerfully muscled. They possess no hair at all, and their skin is very tough, almost leathery. Their hands and feet are webbed, making them exemplary swimmers, and while they do not possess gills like some aquatic races, their lung capacity is extraordinary, allowing them to hold their breath for ten minutes or more. Their females, while slightly smaller than the males, do not have obvious breasts except when nursing young, and the genitalia of both sexes is completely internal except during mating, which can make it difficult (and slightly embarrassing) for a visitor unfamiliar with other cues to initially tell the men from the women. Orca darfellan are mostly black with white markings that indicate their family pod; a pure back or pure white specimen is rare, considered to portend significant events ahead. Dauphin darfellan tend to be gray or blue with darker markings, and are often smaller than their orca cousins. History Thousands of years ago, the darfellan were plentiful, with colonies and settlements all over the world. They lived as hunter-gatherers, their pods boasting thousands of individuals. Their existence was not a peaceful one for long, however: their songs tell of the waking of the shark-god Sekolah, and the uprising of His people, the sahuagin. The sahuagin and darfellan clashed over favored hunting grounds, and as the war turned bloodier, the sahuagin found themselves developing a taste for darfellan flesh. Today, the darfellan find themselves hunted like the shoals of fish they once gathered for food, their pods sundered and scattered across the world. Their only hope for survival is to find allies amongst the land-dwellers who are willing to help them find other pods and, if fate smiles upon them, to gather in sufficient numbers to turn the tides on the bloodthirsty sahuagin. Lands * Anglemaw Sea * Merrick Sea Although the darfellan once lived throughout the world's oceans, today they truly thrive in the frigid Merrick Sea, which is too cold for sahuagin to survive unaided. Languages *Aquan Culture Today the darfellan are largely lone wanderers, finding communities wherever they can on the crews of ships, whom they defend as fiercely as they would one of their own pods. At one time darfellan communities were strictly ranked by merit and role, which they continue to practice today even though their numbers are too few to justify it. In communities of other species they are more likely to address colleagues by rank rather than name, believing that acknowledging their role is just as important as knowing their name. Although darfellan are social creatures and will form close bonds with many other races, they absolutely despise Sahuagin and will attack them on sight in what many have described as a berserker rage that usually ends in the messy death of one or both parties - usually the sahuagin Notable Darfellan * Malektik'chik Category:Lyranthium Category:Lyranthium/Pages Needing Artwork Category:Races Category:Creatures Category:Anglemaw Sea/Creatures Category:Anglemaw Sea/Races Category:Merrick Sea/Creatures Category:Merrick Sea/Races Category:Anvestris/Creatures Category:Humanoids Category:Aquatic Category:Aquatic Races Category:Humanoid Races Category:Anvestris/Races